The 85-Year-Old Cleaning Up Indian Politics

In 2005, Lily Thomas, an 85-year-old human-rights lawyer who trained in Chennai, started a legal battle to oust politicians convicted while in office and to bar those with pending criminal charges from contesting elections.

On Wednesday she got victory in the case, a result that has significant ramifications for politics in India.

National Election Watch, a non-government organization campaigning for electoral reform, says 162 lawmakers in the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of Parliament, face criminal charges. In the last national election in 2009, around 15% of candidates had pending criminal convictions, National Election Watch figures show.

Ms. Thomas, who has been practicing law for almost six decades, was fighting against a clause in the Representation of the People Act, which had allowed sitting members of Parliament to remain in office even after being convicted of crimes, while they appealed against their conviction.

The Supreme Court this week found that the clause violated India’s Constitution. It ruled that state and national lawmakers convicted of an offense would from now on be automatically removed from office even if they appealed their conviction. It also barred those with pending criminal cases from contesting elections.

Judge A.K. Patnaik, hearing the case, said the ruling won’t affect serving lawmakers who are facing or appealing criminal charges because the law could not be enforced retroactively.

The decision was reinforced by another Supreme Court ruling, published Thursday, which banned those in police custody or on remand in jail from contesting elections at the national and local level.

Ms. Thomas spoke with The Wall Street Journal about the judgment, what prompted her to file the petition, and why she thinks the battle to rid India of corrupt leaders is tougher than the country’s freedom struggle.

Edited excerpts:

The Wall Street Journal: Are you happy with the Supreme Court’s verdict?

Ms. Thomas: Absolutely. This will go a long way in cleansing our political system.

WSJ: How?

Ms. Thomas: For decades, politicians charged with criminal offenses and local leaders who have served years of jail time have been allowed to run the country. An absence of well-defined legislations, regulations and rules has encouraged corrupt people to contest elections. For one, this ruling will eliminate entry of tainted leaders in our electoral system. Second, it will serve as an incentive for the ‘aam aadmi,’ or common man, to venture into politics.

The message has gone out loud and clear. Corruption will not be tolerated.

Kumar Ranjan

Shown, Ms. Thomas

WSJ: What prompted you to file the petition?

Ms. Thomas: The battle started eight years ago in 2005 when I chanced upon a judgment based on the ‘Representation of the People Act,’ which lays out guidelines for who can contest elections. Immediately I went through provisions of the act. What I found odd, rather startling, was that the act encouraged tainted leaders to contest elections. I decided to take matters into my own hands and question why we were letting ourselves be governed by such people.

WSJ: Political parties say this will encourage a slew of so-called fake cases by opponents who want to bar candidates from rival parties from elections. What do you think about this?

Ms. Thomas: That’s just a convenient excuse by parties who field tainted candidates. They’re afraid the judgment would weaken their political fortunes.

WSJ: You were a teenager and young adult during India’s freedom movement. Do you think corruption in India’s political class has become more rampant over the last six decades?

Ms. Thomas: Yes, without doubt. I would even say that the struggle to rid India of corrupt leaders is tougher than our freedom struggle. Back then, the entire nation was fighting for their rights with outsiders. Now, the common man is fighting for his rights with those who claim to work in the best interest of India, but in reality exploit everybody around them to suit their best interests.

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